Senior Principal Application Engineer

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology.
Overview
The Architect will serve as a technical leader within Cadence’s North America Field Applications Team, driving strategic customer engagements and influencing next-generation EDA & Agentic-AI solutions. This role demands exceptional technical depth, hands-on experience of design convergence, and the ability to align cross-functional teams toward delivering advanced design solutions for leading semiconductor companies.

Key Responsibilities

- Technical Expertise : Lead technical engagements with customers and partners to achieve best-in-class PPA, working closely with design teams to meet customer success metrics, guiding adoption of Cadence’s digital implementation, signoff technologies and AgenticAI features across advanced nodes (3nm and below).

- Cross-Functional Collaboration : Partner with R&D and Product Engineering to influence tool enhancements based on real-world customer requirements.

- Innovation & Enablement : Drive complex benchmarks, flow optimizations, and deployment of cutting-edge methodologies for Synthesis, P&R, STA, IR Drop, and power/timing closure.

- Thought Leadership : Represent Cadence at industry forums, author technical papers, and deliver keynote presentations to position Cadence as a market leader.

Qualifications

- 15+ years of experience in IC design implementation and signoff, with demonstrated success in managing large-scale technical programs.

- BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.

- Deep expertise in digital design fundamentals, advanced node implementation (3nm and below), and EDA tool ecosystems.

- Proven track record of leading technical teams and driving customer success at executive levels.

- Strong proficiency in scripting (Tcl, Python, Perl) and flow customization for design closure.

- Excellent communication, negotiation, and leadership skills with the ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.

- Prior experience with Cadence tools (Genus, Innovus, Tempus, Voltus, Conformal, Cerebrus) and competitive solutions highly desirable.
The annual salary range for California is $162,400 to $301,600. You may also be eligible to receive incentive compensation: bonus, equity, and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the salary range is a guideline and compensation may vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies and work location. Our benefits programs include: paid vacation and paid holidays, 401(k) plan with employer match, employee stock purchase plan, a variety of medical, dental and vision plan options, and more.
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